After winning by three goals at home in round 7, Pick Szeged took the points on Thursday night in Skopje against HC Vardar 1961 by the same margin. Making the most of their strong defensive performance in the first half, the visitors cruised away on the scoreboard in the first half.

While Vardar reacted after the break, with Filip Taleski delivering his best game of the season, the Hungarian side proved superior and completed a 30:27 win.

GROUP A 
HC Vardar 1961 (MKD) vs Pick Szeged (HUN) 27:30 (9:16)

• with Vardar only scoring once in the first quarter of the game, Szeged took the opportunity to gain control over their opponents early on
• Sebastian Frimmel's efficiency on fast breaks ensured that the Hungarian side took a maximum advantage of seven goals in the first half
• Vardar delivered a much more consistent second half, partly thanks to Filip Taleski. The young left back was instrumental in the hosts reducing Szeged's advantage to four goals with 15 minutes left to play
• Vardar could not come any closer, though, as Szeged sailed away again, thanks to Dean Bombac and Imanol Garciandia
• thanks to this win, Szeged are now in second place in the group, one point behind Montpellier. Vardar remain in sixth place, with five points

Vardar too weak in offence

When Vardar only netted once in the first 15 minutes of the game on Thursday night, one thought that last week’s scenario of the Paris Saint-Germain vs FC Porto game was to be repeated.

Kevynn Nyokas had to wait until the 35th minute to score his first goal, and with such problems on the right-hand side, Vardar’s offence walked on one leg all evening. Although Filip Taleski and Timur Dibirov played their best handball in the second half, Vardar clearly carried the burden from their offensive performance in the first half all night.